This Philadelphia Phillies star looks like he will be playing for a different team in 2025.
The Philadelphia Phillies will have some very pressing decisions to make in free agency, and while Kyle Schwarber is expected to re-sign, the same cannot be said for one of their top players: pitcher Ranger Suarez.
Suarez picked a good year to hit the open market (not that it was actually in his control anyway, but you get the point). It's a rather weak year for pitchers in free agency, and with Suarez making an All-Star team in 2024 and being a lefty, his market should be robust.
This is bad news for the Phillies, who will be facing stiff competition to retain him and may simply end up letting Suarez go.
MLB Trade Rumors is projecting the 30-year-old to land a five-year, $115 million contract in free agency, and while the $23 million average annual value certainly isn't bad for a guy who logged a 3.20 ERA this past season, the length of the deal is sketchy.
That's especially for a Philadelphia squad that has to pay Bryce Harper for six more years, has to re-sign Schwarber and will possibly bring back J.T. Realmuto, as well.
In fact, during a free agency predictions piece, all four contributing MLB Trade Rumors writers predicted Suarez to sign elsewhere.
Suarez broke into the big leagues with the Phillies back in 2018 but did not become a full-time member of their starting rotation until 2022.
The Venezuelan native has experienced considerable success with the club, having managed a 3.38 ERA throughout his career in Philly, but he has never been a truly dominant frontline arm, and his injury history is concerning.
Suarez has never pitched 160 innings over the course of a full campaign and has never made 30 starts, which makes the prospect of giving him a lucrative long-term deal a bit scary. That's especially given Philadelphia's dicey financial situation.
Plus, something has to change for the Phillies. They have been eliminated in the NLDS the last two years in spite of posting back-to-back 95-plus win campaigns. That means running it back with the same team in 2026 would probably be a mistake.
Philadelphia should probably be aiming to get younger and more durable in terms of its pitching staff, and Suarez doesn't really check either of those boxes. Particularly at such an expensive cost.
Some team will almost surely throw Suarez an offer that the Phillies are not comfortable matching, which will probably lead to the veteran departing this winter.